‘Pakistan judicial panel report has evidential value’

With a Pakistan court ruling that the findings of the judicial commission on the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks are “illegal,” India on Tuesday said it would ask its neighbour what action it was going to take to ensure that those involved in the carnage were prosecuted.

Apart from taking legal opinion, Home Ministry officials said the matter would be taken up at the diplomatic level on an urgent basis so that it did not have any adverse impact on the case. India had asked its High Commission in Islamabad to immediately deliver a copy of the ruling so that India could chalk out its future course of action.

Pointing out that the Pakistan judicial commission’s report had “evidential value” and could be used in trial against the accused, Home Secretary R.K. Singh said: “After we go through the judgment, we will discuss with the Pakistan government as to what they propose to do about it.”

On the Pakistan court’s objection that the judicial commission did not cross-examine the witnesses, Mr. Singh said this was as per the agreement between India and Pakistan on terms and conditions to be followed by the commission.

The Rawalpindi-based antiterrorism court ruled that the report of the eight-member commission, which visited Mumbai and interviewed key witnesses, could not be made part of the evidence as it did not cross-examine the witnesses. Notably, a separate case is going on in Pakistan against seven suspects charged with planning, financing and executing the Mumbai attacks, who included Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi.

Meanwhile, a senior Home Ministry official said though India was not happy with the development, all efforts would be made to ensure that the perpetrators of the attacks were prosecuted at the earliest.